Final Thesis: Saturating East Boulevard: Fusing Water and Public Space

Here’s a link to my final thesis document – viewing at Issuu:

 

http://issuu.com/keihly/docs/kmoore_finalthesisdoc_small?mode=window

*New* Scrap Exchange Space

before…

 

These are the kinds of projects I like: quick, easy, cheap, and pack an impact punch!

Problem: Architecture students waste so many materials at the end of the year because they dont have anywhere to put them and they dont think they can use them again.

Solution: Take over an under utilized spray painting room and turn it into an organized place to store scrap materials for next semester. Every one saves TIME and MONEY. Hundreds of dollars of materials are saved from going in the dumpster! Hit this effort during the last week of school, make an impact, get people excited, get people motivated and willing to do just a little bit more.

We also played off of an existing campaign – Zero Waste has been adopted by the Football team. Why not use a little peer pressure and take on the same goals??

Nicole Rivera is a trooper. She attacked the top!

Before, from the doorway.

After painting!

After. We decided to keep some of the good graffiti for fun!

X marks the spot for saving this graffiti!

Free flat files from university surplus!

Job searching and future opportunities

I graduate in May. You’ve probably met me, and I have probably directed you to this website.  I am going to be shameless put my portfolio and resume here, in hopes it will be an easy way to get to know me and to see my work.

Click to view my 2013 short portfolio. Here is the link to view a quick view of my thesis portfolio.

Here is my resume in the pdf version: KeihlyMoore_Resume2013_web

Clickable version that gets bigger:

street section builder…

 

This just in for all you urban designer / street geeks!

What could be more fun that playing around with how to design a street?

http://streetmix.net/

 

water bottle follies

So, the other day I was doing a bicycle experiment with my friend. We were riding the bike share bcycles and I had my waterbottle in the basket. I was going fast down 7th Ave, headed away from uptown, and I hit a bump…watch what happens.. (click on the image to activate…)

snow, really, for the first time in 2 years!

berry pile

hands open

Snowy collection

I couldnt help but get excited to see snow in Charlotte. It had been the first accumulation in 2 years. Although it hardly holds a shovel to the inches I’ve seen in Minnesota, excitement still bubbled up inside me. I’ll never tire of seeing the snow etched branches overlapping in the sky, their outlines creating infinite patterns.

DIY street experiments

The case for separated bike lanes (source: Atlantic Cities)

Since I’ve taken bicycling seriously in the city I’ve really started to pay a lot more attention to the streets – the widths, the speeds, the potholes, the jerks, the friendly faces (I’ve noticed I have more eye contact with people when I’m on my bike), the connectivity and lack of. You see a lot more when you’re on a bike, then when you’re in a car, I’ve found.

Here’s an article that is quite inspiring…

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/08/case-separated-bike-lanes/3015/

furry frosty

This is what a rain storm followed by a winter storm (in NC) will give you. The doors were stuck shut, the first time that’s happened this winter season. I appreciate the pattern and texture.

the water line

I am interested in showing the presence of something that is absent…I’m also interested in how water lines mark, thinking of this as a mini model of flooding. This, of course, is a more every-day water mark we look right over.

moving, migrating ‘mericans : Forbes map

I just can’t stop looking at this fun map…

http://www.forbes.com/special-report/2011/migration.html

Rich blocks, poor blocks

This site visualizes income data per neighborhood. Very interesting.

http://www.richblockspoorblocks.com/

stretched to the end

A friend sent me a picture of the wallet I made him some 3 years ago. He tried to make it last forever. I’d say he did pretty good. I’m really impressed he used it so well. I like to see the things I make wear and travel. I still remember this mesh came from a rice sack from Mexico, found in Illinois. The plastic edging came from a bag found in NYC. The wallet has lived in Iowa.

Sugar Creek Storming

I took this video at 9am this morning. Today the greenway is impassable, but that’s okay. I’ll let the river have more room. This is a good use of space and water management. It’s also interesting to watch the water line move up and down.

Thank yous

For some reason I really enjoy making thank you cards and postcards. I get into this introspective mood and realize how much there is to be grateful for. I think about the person as I make it (even if I dont know them very well), and somehow that informs my decision making process, in a strange, sub-conscious kind of way. Here are a few of my latest.

Rome + waves

 

Berlin + waves

Stockholm pictures

coy koi, okoy?

I need to keep track of the things I make. This particular found-fabric found its way into my latest gift projects quite easily. I started with the apron – for a favorite chef of mine. The vertical piece turns into a towel hook over the koi fish pocket. If you’re into cycling, I was inspired by Rapha’s clothing line off center design.

koi fish apron

And then I made an all purpose pouch. Friends have turned them into wallets, card holders, places to carry flash drives, phone cases…it’s just fun and versatile.

fish all-purpose pouch

And last, but not least, are my koi pot-holders/hot pads. It’s fun covering poorly designed ones with whatever design you want! Plus you get an extra layer of fabric protection….

Potholders / hot pads

Do you have other ideas you could see with this kind of fabric? I’ve got a little big left….

 

Japanese subway as music

I found this article at Atlantic Cities:

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2012/10/japanese-subway-train-composed-music/3445/

I’ve been thinking about sound and space recently, and this caught my attention. Quite imaginative!

the whole view

This is what 9 christmas trees look like in a little dining room. They are quite friendly, and their fragrance, sparkled with orange scent, is marvelous.

 

I should also note how the trees exited the house…much faster than hauling them back down the stairs.

tree exit

 

x-mas x-hibition

What does it look like to have 9 christmas trees in your dining room? This is the thought that crossed my mind when walking past strewn-to-the-curb christmas trees. My friend provided his dining room in Boston for the staging.

Census dot map

Check out this great map made by Brandon Martin-Anderson.
There is one dot for every person in the US and Canada. Here is his website: http://bmander.com/dotmap/index.html

The ABCs of Architects

This is a fun diagram-like portrayal of a few of the famous architects and their projects. It’s short, sweet, and colorful.

Here’s the link if the video doesn’t play : http://vimeo.com/56974716

Common Ground and my architectural philosophy

Today, after a class discussion with David Leatherbarrow, I think I am closer to finding another piece of my personal philosophy on architecture.

Here I will try to articulate what I’ve learned. Know that I’m still in processing mode and thoughts will change, add, and grow on these issues. Many of these statements are quotes from David.

ARCHITECTURE NEEDS TO BE MORE GENEROUS. There I said it. It takes courage to give the heart of the ground floor, the heart of the building, over to the  public. (Leatherbarrow)

In Architecture we want to articulate our individuality, rather than what we share. Is there any common ground? Leatherbarrow argues that sites are not given, but constructed. The architecture project you create reveals the site.

Urban architecture, Leatherbarrow argues, should share space. He uses the word proportion, as in share the right amount. Just like at dinner. You may not eat as much as the person next to you, because you don’t have to. Good design always involves a donation of space to the public. It’s a sacrifice that makes the city better.

He gives three examples of this “sacrificing space.”

Palladio’s Palazzo Cheiricati 

ABI Building in Brazil

Tod Williams Billie Tsien’s  Skirkanich Hall

Part of sacrificing space is thickening the edge. The limit of your project should not be a line but a space.

It is this act of gift-giving of space that develops the common ground.

In contrast, Thom Mayne’s recent Cooper Union Building does not engage the public realm. It does not sacrifice for the benefit of the city. If you clicked on the link with the building, I would have to say I do not agree with the critics remarks about engaging the public. It does not. No where to sit. Barely an overhang to be sheltered from the rain or sun.

- – - – - -

About  city and society.

Richard Sennett’s The Fall of Public Man is an account of the modern attitude of our cities and space and how we interact with each other. I have not read it yet. Leatherbarrow warns us that it is pretty depressing, but we still need to read it. One way to look at cities is to see that all they are is circulation and police. We feel most comfortable at home. We have internalized the city. The car is the extension of the living room. Today, public does not equal shared, but unlimited access, accessibility.

- – - – - -

Is place a gradient then? If you set up the extremes:

Flow <- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -> Place

(circulation, continuous space)        (identity, regionalism, stability)

Many define the gradient as a blurred boundary. Leatherbarrow says it is not blurred. It is nuanced, exact, precise. There are structured, carefully constructed relationships that define space.

- – - – - – -

To be continued…and revised. I just like that architecture needs to be more giving. More in relation to its surroundings to give itself a stronger identity, and to be a good neighbor.

PlanCharlotte Additions

I need to write a ‘shout-out’ to our budding PlanCharlotte site! The site covers issues shaping growth in the Charlotte region.

I’ve had a part in the following articles:

May 25: Charlotte’s Great Walls. Here I examine some particularly blank and centralized walls and imagine things to do with them.

July 6: It’s Hip to be (a Water) Square. This article articulates a few of the things I learned on my Traveling Fellowship and ties our flooding condition to Charlotte. This will also roll into my thesis topic and these questions will consume my life for the next few months!

July 31: Eastland Mall, What’s Next? Some Options. Charlotte has a dead mall on it’s hands and here our research presents other now-living mall ideas.

September 11: Parking for Cars or PARK(ing) for People? I led Charlotte’s first (official- street level) PARK(ing) Day. (The first was in a parking lot in 2008 by Deb Ryan and her students.) I held it in SouthEnd and major organizing took place over just 2 weeks! It all came together wonderfully with borrowed materials!

October 3: Hitting the Streets, with Parks. This is my follow up article of the very successful event!

 

Up, Up, and Away!

Tomorrow I embark on a month long journey through Europe studying how cities and architecture there have given more space to water. I won a traveling fellowship through the School of Architecture and AIA Charlotte to fund my studies, which I’ll extend into my thesis year in the Master of architecture and urban design programs.

A few goals for the trip: I would like to talk to different planners, architects, engineers, designers, about how they are preparing for future changes in climate – like more flooding and storms. I want to learn more about how water is managed in cities – for example – how it is seen as a benefit, rather than a burden. I’m curious in the Rotterdam Climate Initiative and how they are building more space for water. This includes above ground storm water management (canals, etc). I’m also curious how architects are responding to the increasing possibility that water will be covering the area more frequently – are they designing floating structures? Or building up the land? Or other innovative solutions? Are there ecological solutions, like conserving the marshland and wetlands (these have absorbing powers) that planners are using in their cities?

So, I am interested in how these designs happen in architecture and also at a bigger scale in cities and future developments. I also dont know much about polders, so I want to learn about those! I’m really looking for forward thinkers who are being proactive about the future instead of reactive!

Here’s a general map of my travels (but subtract London and add Berlin)

Map of the travel stops

This is an example of the kinds of solutions I’m looking for – an idea that is multi beneficial across many needs: people, ecological, flooding protection, for example. Here’s a rendering I did of a Richard Serra sculpture in the Delaware River along Philadelphia’s coast that acts at once as a sea wall, public art, and ecological habitat.

Richard Serra public art/seawall/habitat idea for Philadelphia I designed.

Pallet Place Farm?

Pallet fence idea for the Charlotte Urban Farm Project

When I walked out of my “home” at the UNCC Center City Building to check out what Lindsey and Allen were doing at their new farm site on the corner of 8th Street and Brevard I was immediately put to work (and seriously, how could I expect anything different?) I was tasked with designing a pallet fence. This week also happens to be FINALS week, so there is lots going on. But, because I’m a productive multi-tasking procrastinator I find useful things to do instead of the things I really should be doing, and this little project fits the bill! It was also a challenge to do a quick charrette and see how fast I could render something. With the help of fellow Urban Design student, Adam Martin, we came up with this easy-to-construct design. We’ll be doing some actual testing in the next few weeks to get the site secured.

Check out the Charlotte Urban Farm Project’s website! http://www.clturbanfarm.org/

I also thought it would be a good idea to do some vertical gardening projects in uptown on some of the blank walls, so I’m in the process of finding the right people to talk to to make that happen. Here are some of my ideas: http://cargocollective.com/the_spacebetween/Green-on-gray

Matters of Place and Place Matters

I just recently wrote a ditty on my perceptions of place, how places “feel,” and what design elements make them feel this way. I found it to be a challenging topic – how do YOU define place? My goal is to get people to notice their environments, neighborhoods, and streets, a little more.  I’ve heard a few accounts of where this actually happened!

Read it here on PlanCharlotte.org.

 

NoDa, Charlotte streetscape

Business card holders, right when you need them.

So, today I was in a quiet sort of mood. Self reflecting, wanting to make. Rain dripped intermittently throughout the day, the robins and nuthatches were active and calling, the wind was mixing the wind chimes. And so I made. I was also in a mood to give away, and mixed with the dose of practicality that I must always have when making such things, I chose these business card holders made of soda cans.. tonight was also a night when 8 of us Urban Designer grad student types acted as facilitators to a South End Charlotte neighborhood development charrette organized by Charlotte Center City Partners. One of my classmates got cards from her group members, and what a perfect place to put them in a recycled can holder! So there you have it. Here are the 2nd life aluminums that will take a new meaning in life:

Here they are, ready to go out into the world again.

They are quite handy – flexible, so you can bend them to accomodate your needs. I assure you they have not ever cut me, but I cannot guaranteed you wont do that to yourself. I do sand the edges.

Would you like one? Just let me know!

Cannily,

Keihly

Putting the Thai Curry in Butternut Squash…

So, randomly, serendipitously, if you will, I discovered Nalena‘s (my friend and fellow colleague from architecture school) foody-type blog. And what can I say, she does an excellent job with her pictures and I just had to try out her latest recipe: Thai Curry Butternut Squash Soup.

Using only one Butternut Squash and adding some cream at the end, on top, I loved the body of the soup – it could hold its shape – which makes it extra fun to sculpt and play with…

the cream adds a dynamism

add a little cilantro

play and sculpt!

Thanks, Nalena for a great recipe that was easy and so well balanced in spice and texture!!

Fully yours,

Keihly

Helping your memory, and your eyes

Who says you can’t have cheat-sheets to jog your memory for codes and such?

My dad was giving a presentation in front of the NC State Park coordinators and related folks and asked me to make a card (business card sized) to help explain the main accessibility components related to access. His passion is in accessibility and highlighting the areas to be improved. Instead of just showing the numbers, why not do a little drawing? After all, it’s much more fun to look at.

Front of the accessibility card.

Back of the card - where the code measures come in.

I think this little card is pretty effective, and he just confirmed that it was after his meeting just the other day.

What other things could we do to make our lives easier, and more fun to understand and remember?

soup’s up (and down)

the great soup debacle

the splash

One day I thought it would be a good idea to try to save half my soup. Well, it proved harder than I thought. In short, a slip of the hand and a volume of air quickly compressing a full can of Tomato Basil soup ended rather messily. Notice the empty, clean bowl. The spray reached over 15 feet! I thought the most prominent splash was pretty great…there’s something about speed and different materials meeting that creates interesting objects. The picture that is not shown here is my sweater. It, too, was in the line of fire; I was not spared. It proved not to be a challenge to clean out, however. It’s just one of those nutty things that puts a little surprise in the day! It could have been worse…

Music to my/your/our ears

My current favorite bands that you should definitely check out are these!

Goyte (info) and LISTEN 

and!

Kimbra

Here is a grooveshark playlist of some especially awesome songs by both musicians…

All at once I find these to be uplifting, engaging, encouraging, energizing…but yet they can slip into the background when more pressing work is in front of me. The videos are pretty great too!